


Letter from Miyagi

by GenKay



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Flashbacks, Gen, Introspection, Light Angst, Regret, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26071624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenKay/pseuds/GenKay
Summary: His time was close. He could feel it in his old bones. And he did not want to leave anything unsaid.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	Letter from Miyagi

**Author's Note:**

> A recent idea I had and I’m not sure if it’s worth exploring. I have a vaguely forming story around this - an outline of the first few chapters in my mind, but I’m not sure how it should develop or end. Think I might need some help on this one. 
> 
> This one is meant to work as a standalone and if there is enough interest, I’ll try to write a proper story around it.

_ “Hello Daniel-San,” _

Miyagi paused, looking at the words and wondering if he was making the right choice here. 

Daniel had never truly gotten the hang of reading  _ kanji.  _ This was not going to be easy for him to read. 

On the other hand, Miyagi had never really gotten used to English either. His broken speech still got him more than a few awkward looks. And it was worse when it came to writing. The contradictory spellings made no sense to him and his handwriting was worse than a child’s scrawl. He did not want to leave behind something that embarrassing. 

Daniel was smart. If he had difficulty reading, he’d find a way to figure it out. Yes - it was better to leave him the letter in a language Miyagi was fluent in.

_ “Hello, Daniel-San,” _

_ “If you are reading this letter it means I’m dead. And now it’s upto you to avenge my murder. But in order to do that, you will need to learn the ultimate Miyagi-Do technique - the final secret that I have not shared with you. I believe you are ready now and...” _

Miyagi smiled down at the words. Too far? No - just far enough.

_ “Just kidding. Never could resist a joke.” _

_ “Truth is, Daniel-San, I do not have anything left to teach you. You have taken everything I’ve taught you and used it to make a good life for yourself. As a teacher I could’ve asked for nothing more. I’m proud to have you as my student and - I hope this isn’t too forward of me - as a son as well.” _

_ “I write this letter in the hope that it’ll be a source of comfort for you.” _

_ “Do not grieve me. I’m old and it is my time. The old leave the world to the young - that is the way of it. Know that I am at peace. Know that I am with my wife and my son. With my friend Sato and my first love Yukie. With my father and my mother. Know that I am ready to move on - and that it’s okay to let me go.” _

Miyagi nodded to himself as he wrote those words. He wished he felt as certain as he sounded on paper. As much as he wanted to be at peace, deep inside, he still feared the uncertainty of what came next. 

But that was alright. Perhaps there was no one alive who wouldn’t fear that. 

And it was the next part that was going to be more difficult anyway. 

_ “I wish I could tell you that I was leaving with no regrets, but that would not be true. I write this letter because I don’t believe there should be anything left unsaid between us.” _

_ “There are things about my past that I have not shared with you, Daniel-San. Things that I am not proud of. Perhaps that was selfish of me. I was too eager to have your love and respect and I did not wish to risk losing it. I owe you the truth but I still do not have the courage to tell you. So I am choosing a coward’s way out - letting you find out after I’m gone. I know you see me as more than your teacher. I know you see me as your hero - as your savior. But the truth is, Daniel-San, you were the one who saved me.” _

_ “I was lost when you found me, Daniel-San. An old man who had given up on life. I didn’t think life had anything more in store for me and I was content to drink the rest of my days away. But you brought me back to the world. You taught me how to live again.” _

_ “And you gave me a second chance as a teacher.” _

Miyagi took a deep breath, trying to gather his courage. The next part was going to be the hardest. 

_ “You were not the first student I had, Daniel-San. You were not even the hundredth. But you were the first that I did right by. I had failed my students and I thought I’d have to live with the shame of it for the rest of my life. But you gave me the chance to redeem my honor - as a teacher and as a person. And for that, Daniel-San, I’ll be eternally grateful.” _

_ “It is never easy for a man to confront his failures and perhaps that is why I never told you about them. But you deserve to know. If there is anything left for you to learn from Miyagi-Do, maybe this where you’ll find that lesson.” _

_ “I taught you that there were no bad students, only bad teachers. But perhaps, the right thing to say would’ve been that there are no bad  _ **_teachings_ ** _. Things aren’t good or bad by themselves, but they can be manipulated into anything. Even the wisest of sayings can be corrupted into something unrecognizable by a misguided mind.” _

_ "It is true for Miyagi-Do as well. As much as I'd like to believe it, my family's legacy is not perfect - never was. I hope I have left it better than I found it but that was not always the case. Some flaws were always there and I added others. Seeing you makes me believe that I succeeded in correcting them after all, but I can never be certain." _

Miyagi frowned at the words. He sounded like a rambling old man. Maybe this was his subconscious still trying to avoid the hard truths?

_ “Maybe I should start at the beginning.” _

_ “Miyagi-Do was not always what you’ve known it to be. My father was a very traditional man. For him, honor was everything. No - not the kind of honor that I taught you, but the old kind of honor. The one rooted in loyalty, service and family. I know it doesn’t sound that different, but trust me, Daniel-San, there is a darkness in that kind of honor.” _

_ “I brought dishonor upon my family the day I betrayed my friend. And I was too much of a coward to restore it. I told myself that I did not wish to fight my best friend, but the truth was, I was too ashamed of my actions. That is what my father’s honor had taught me to be.” _

_ “You helped me make things right with Sato, but I wonder how much pain could’ve been avoided had I been brave enough to stand up to Sato back then. I destroyed three lives the day I left my country and our reconciliation cannot make up for all the lost years.” _

_ “I know it sounds like I blame father for this, but that is not my intention. Father taught me what he knew and I was the one who twisted it into something wrong. I may have escaped Japan, but I brought his teachings with me and I ended up teaching my students all the wrong things.” _

He took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth now.

_ “I was angry and bitter after the war. They’d made me betray my own country. They’d turned me against my fellow Japanese. They’d killed my wife. And they’d killed my son. My son - who had been innocent in all of this - never even had a chance. They’d taken my family and my home.” _

_ “Who were they, you ask? I wish I’d asked myself the same thing all those years ago. After all, no one made Miyagi enlist. And my wife and son had died of fever. There was no one person to hate. To get revenge on - as my father’s honor dictated. And that made it worse.” _

_ “I know my intentions were good back then. The American chapter of Miyagi-Do - a place where the two cultures could meet and learn to understand each-other. A place where they could learn to put aside their differences. I thought that this was something good to come out of my anger and my hatred.” _

_ “But hatred and anger have a way of tainting even the noblest of intentions.” _

_ “The fault was mine. Those students had trusted me to lead them and I led them wrong.” _

_ “It took me a long time to realize the truth. Too long. I wonder how many lives I ended up destroying because I was too blind to see it. I knew my students were making mistakes, but I blamed them for it when I should’ve blamed myself. And by the time I saw the truth, the damage had already been done.” _

_ “For more than fifteen years I ran my dojo, corrupting one student after another without even realizing it. It wasn’t until that horrible day that I realized my mistake. I could no longer hide...” _

* * *

A soft knock on the door brought him back to the present and he breathed a sigh of relief. Writing about it was proving to be a lot harder than expected and he was ready to take any excuse for a break he could get. 

“Come.” He said, loudly enough for his voice to get to the other side. 

Daniel slid the hospital door open, smiling widely at him. 

“There’s someone here to see you, Mr. Miyagi.” He said, shifting to the side a little. 

Samantha peeked inside from behind her father and smiled at him shyly. “Hello, Mr. Miyagi.”

“Samantha-chan!” Miyagi said, smiling back. “Come!”

The 9-year old girl bounded forward and practically leapt on the bed to hug him. And Miyagi hugged her back, holding the small, warm body as close to him as he could. For a moment, it felt like her life was flowing into him, revitalizing him again.

“Sam, show Mr. Miyagi what you made him.” Daniel said, beaming at the both of them. 

Sam hurriedly disentangled herself and took off her Hello-Kitty backpack to rummage through it.

“I made it myself.” She told him, handing him a piece of folded paper.

It was a get-well card made by a child. The words were all in different colors and there were drawings of cats and stars and hearts crammed into every bit of unused space. And the whole thing was covered in sparkling glitter.  It was probably the most beautiful work of art Miyagi had seen in his life.

“Thank-you, Samantha-chan!” He told her. “This makes Miyagi feel better than pills.”

She practically swelled with pride at his words and he affectionately ruffled her hair. 

“You are gonna be okay, right?” Sam asked, a little nervously now.

_ No cure for old age, child,  _ he almost said, but thought better of it. That wasn’t what she needed to hear. 

“Not worry.” He said, dismissively. “Miyagi in prime of life.”

She giggled and Daniel gently touched her on the shoulder, redirecting her to the chair. Sam got the message - it was time for grown-ups to talk. 

“You are gonna be fine, Mr. Miyagi.” Daniel told him in a reassuring voice. “You are the strongest person I know.” 

“No cure for old age, Daniel-San.” Miyagi said this time. “No can defend.”

Daniel nodded sadly as he sat down on the chair beside his bed. The reassurance had been more for himself, Miyagi realized. He knew what was coming but wasn’t ready to face it. 

“It all good, Daniel-san.” Miyagi said, smiling sadly. “Miyagi old. Live full life. Have family. What more could ask?”

Daniel nodded, still not looking at him and Miyagi figured that was enough on the depressing subject. 

“How is Amanda-san?” He asked after his wife. “All good, yes?”

“Yeah - she’s great.” Daniel replied. “Running the business, taking care of kids - she’s handling it all like a pro. And let me tell you - Anthony is a real handful. The kid’s driving me crazy. I can’t keep up with him - I don’t know how Amanda does it.”

Miyagi laughed. He’d met that little bundle of energy and didn’t think he could’ve either. 

“Spirited boy.” He smiled and nodded. “That’s good.”

“Sometimes I just wish he’d settle down a little. Like - sit in front of a TV and watch some cartoons instead of running around all the time.” Daniel shook his head exasperated. “I’m seriously thinking of getting him an iPad just to have a few moments of peace. Sam was never that bad.”

Miyagi nodded like he understood. This eye-pad was one of the new things, right? Something he was too old to understand?

“Hey, what’s that?” Daniel asked, his eye catching the letter Miyagi had been in the middle of writing. “Are you working on something?”

His heart skipped a beat at that. He wasn’t ready for Daniel to find out yet. Almost casually, like he didn’t care, he folded the papers up.

“Just unfinished business.” He shrugged. 

“You are not cutting me out of your will, are you?” Daniel asked, faking nervousness. 

Miyagi chuckled again. Daniel always knew the right thing to say to him. 

“Not worry.” He said. “You get dump here. Kumiko get dump in Japan.”

Daniel smiled back at him. “Seriously though, what were you writing?”

Miyagi shook his head sadly.

“Old man. Rambling about life.” He smiled. “Didn’t want things left unsaid. Didn’t want regrets.”

Daniel seemed satisfied with the answer. He leaned back in his chair, eyes never leaving Miyagi’s face. 

“Well you don’t have to worry about that with us.” He told him. “We’re gonna be right here with you.”

“You don’t know, Daniel-San!” Miyagi said regretfully. “Miyagi a different person before meet you. Make mistakes in his life.”

“Who hasn’t?” Daniel shrugged. “But that doesn’t matter. It’s not who you used to be that matters, it’s who you become. Isn’t that what you always told me?”

A good student after all, Miyagi thought, smiling at him.

“Mr. Miyagi - you know I never really cared about who you used to be before, right?” Daniel said, assuringly. “All I care about is who you are to me. Whatever you did - or think you did - is not going to make an ounce of difference to that.”

Miyagi wondered if this was the right time to tell him everything. Show him that his Sensei had feet of clay after all. But that wouldn’t be fair, would it? He’d be doing it for himself - to clear his own conscience. 

Daniel idolized him. Worshipped him. And he did everything he could to live up to the false image he’d created in his mind. Maybe he’d fall short, but even in making that attempt, he’d end up a better person. And Miyagi had no right to take that away from him.

“Thank-you, Daniel-san.” He said, relieved. He felt like a weight had been lifted off of him. “Finally, the student become the teacher.” 

Without a second thought, he crumpled up the paper and gave it to Daniel to throw in the trash. 

**The End?**

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Is there potential here?


End file.
